


Dishevelled and Brokenhearted

by WaywardPrimrose



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-25 03:11:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4944541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaywardPrimrose/pseuds/WaywardPrimrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post 3x01 May returns and notices Phil is not his usual put together self. It causes her more pain than she would ever admit. You can read it a friendship fic or a UST fic really with these two the intimacy and intensity of their relationship can be read either way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dishevelled and Brokenhearted

The first thing May noticed when she returned wasn’t the steel joint at the end of his stump. It wasn’t the look of betrayal and hurt – she’d expected that.

It was this untidy shirt collar. 

It was the fact that not one darn member of their team had stepped in and tied his damn tie for him. 

It hurt because it reminded her how much he needed her. 

How much he had always needed her. 

She’d always helped him with things like that. Tying ties, deep cover missions, stealing massive top-secret jets. He relied on her for the little things like that. 

May was never gentle, not with anyone, but she made sure he ate something other than coffee. 

She reminded him to sleep when his eyes were falling out of his head and he was in ‘just one more hour/phonecall/case file’ mode. 

Neither of them had ever questioned it; the ways she cared for him. Not openly. Not even when she was married to another man. 

They were there for each other. Had been through everything. When their own government forsook them they had each other.

She was the cavalry and he was hers. 

Then she’d left and now he didn’t even bother with a tie. 

And because he was looking at her with those hurt eyes she couldn’t offer to help. So she didn’t. She turned up, the next morning, and the morning after, and did it. And he didn’t react to it, he didn’t say “thanks” because he was mad and still spoke to her in barked orders and cross tones, but that silent moment each morning when she tied his tie and he didn’t stop her was the first step towards repairing the rift between them. 

Agent Melinda May knew when to be silent and when to wait and she would wait until he’d forgive her, she’d wait until she’d paid her penance. But she’d fix his damn tie. It was the least she could do.


End file.
